"Huge swathes of the interface are remarkable only by their familiarity: a home screen with a grid of apps; a single navigation button to take you back to this screen or alternatively to a multi-tasking screen by way of a long press; and a top-to-bottom pull-down for notifications and quick access to settings. It's basic, but it represents pretty much what all these new operating systems are supposed to be: ways of getting functionality that is at least close to Android but without all the licensing costs associated with running Google services." A lobotomised iOS/Android mashup. This is completely void of personality. Still, it looks like this is Samsung's future (guess who was wrong).

Remember Android is Linux at core. So its performance characteristics come party from that core.

Fair enough. This is way minimal than I let on.

Dumb idea then Windows and OS X should have stopped being used by users years ago. Windows and OS X are full of applications using different looking and feeling application ecosystems.

Windows, with exception to Windows 8 / Phone, hasn't traditionally been a mobile phone OS. Besides, Windows has had self sustaining market dominance for way too long for the differences in experience to even factor in at sales time.

I don't really think it makes sense to look at Windows as proof that this kind of thing can work, when Windows has been locked in for a very, very long time.

Normally it comes down to will it run the apps I want. Not if they are consistent.

I think its a trade off between user experience and app availability.

What if someone didn't know how to use Android? Now they have to learn the UI paradigms of Android just to use apps on your OS (which likely differs in how you interact with it too).